• Green C Ports and LOOP-Ports are the two European projects that have won the awards in the categories of “Resilient Infrastructure” and “Climate and Energy” respectively.

Valencia – 24.06.20. The European projects GREEN C PORTS and LOOP-PORTS, coordinated by the Fundación Valenciaport and in which the Port Authority of Valencia (PAV) participates, have been awarded in the World Ports Sustainability Awards 2020 of the International Association of Ports and Harbors (IAPH) – in the categories of “Resilient Infrastructure” and “Climate and Energy” respectively.

The award ceremony, initially planned to be held in Antwerp in March as part of the IAPH’s World Ports Conference 2020, and subsequently cancelled due to COVID-19, was finally held this morning virtually through a webinar attended by the IAPH Managing Director, Patrick Verhoeven, and by representatives of the Fundación Valenciaport and the PAV, as well as the other award-winning entities.

Antonio Torregrosa, general director of Fundación Valenciaport has been in charge of virtually collecting the award for the GREEN C PORTS project, an initiative co-financed by the European Commission’s CEF Programme whose final objective is to reduce the environmental impact of port operations in cities and to control emissions in the main European ports.

According to Torregrosa “GREEN C PORTS will allow the installation of a network of environmental and meteorological sensors, the pilot development of a port environmental performance platform and the modelling of artificial intelligence algorithms to inform users and clients of ports and citizens about the main environmental parameters derived from port activities”. In addition, innovative solutions to reduce traffic congestion, improve air quality, reduce noise levels, forecast crane productivity and measure emissions in real time will be tested in the ports of Venice, Piraeus, Bremerhaven, Wilhemshaven and Valencia.

On the other hand, Federico Torres, Director of Safety, Environment and Facilities of the PAV, has received, on behalf of the project consortium, the award for the LOOP-Ports project. Torres highlighted the great relevance of this award for the ports participating in the project because “it means the recognition of the work carried out in relation to the promotion of the circular economy as a future strategy in the ports”, and specifically in the port of Valencia, Torres added that this initiative “has helped us, among other things, to establish new objectives to be fulfilled within the framework of our internal strategy of sustainability”.

LOOP-Ports (https://www.loop-ports.eu/) is a project financed by EIT Climate-KIC whose objective is to facilitate the transition to a more circular economy in the port sector by creating a Network of Ports in this area that will provide an ecosystem of innovation around port activity and stimulate the dissemination of circular economy initiatives. A total of 44 entities from 14 countries, mainly Port Authorities and port associations at European level are part of this Ports Network.

Patrick Verhoeven, who has regretted “having to announce the winners virtually rather than in person at the wonderful Antwerp Bourse”, has launched the following message to the winners: “you set the bar in applying the UN Sustainable Development Goals in practice in ports. May many other ports in the world be inspired by your initiatives. From all of us at IAPH and the World Ports Sustainability Program: warm wishes, be safe and we look forward to celebrating your successes in the future.”

World Ports Sustainability Awards y World Ports Sustainability Program

The World Port Sustainability Awards were created to recognize the best projects registered in the IAPH World Port Sustainability Program (WPSP), created in May 2017 with the aim of coordinating the future sustainability efforts of ports around the world and foster international cooperation with supply chain partners, always guided by the United Nations 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

The American Association of Port Authorities (AAPA), the European Organization of Sea Ports (ESPO), the International Association of Cities and Ports (AIVP) and the World Association for River Transport Infrastructure (PIANC) are part of this program as strategic partners.

The international initiatives presented to these awards and specifically the winners will undoubtedly serve as inspiration for ports seeking to integrate the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals into their strategy, in their daily activities and in their clusters.